Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Farm Bill Has Become a Midterm Flash Point - GOP candidates are saying Congress missed an opportunity to overhaul costly food-stamp and farm programs

One of the few bipartisan measures passed by Congress this year, the farm bill recently has cropped up on the campaign trail as a partisan flash point.

Democrats in at least five other battleground states in this year's tight contest to determine control of the Senate are highlighting their support for the bill while many GOP candidates are saying Congress missed an opportunity to overhaul costly food-stamp and farm programs.

The farm measure has long held special resonance among voters in states where agriculture remains an important part of the local economy and identity. But the struggle to pass the $956 billion bill, which ended a system of direct payments to farmers, beefed up the crop-insurance program and scaled back nutrition funding, has made it a potent political issue.

Because it was a compromise, the measure remains a target for critics, including conservatives who contend it is too expensive and liberals who say it curbs food-stamp funding too much. Incumbents who voted for it point to it as a major legislative achievement at a time when Congress is criticized for partisan gridlock.

In Georgia, which has an open Senate seat, Democrat Michelle Nunn said she would have backed the measure, while her Republican opponent, businessman David Perdue, said he would support a farm bill that included just agricultural policy, with food-stamp funding addressed elsewhere.

"David Perdue was not a part of the mess Washington created around the farm bill and runaway food-stamp program," said his spokeswoman Megan Whittemore.